Pope Francis Tells Christians that It is Their Duty to Protect the Environment

In his morning homily at Casa Santa Marta earlier this week, Pope Francis told those in attendance that protecting the environment isn’t just something to be left to ‘green’ activists, that it is the duty of all Christians, CathNews reported.

Francis said, “When we hear that people have meetings about how to preserve creation, we can say, ‘No, they are the greens!’ No, they are not the greens! This is the Christian!”

“A Christian who does not protect creatin, who does not let it grow, is a Christian who does not care about the work of God; that work that was born from the love of God for us,” the Pope continued. “And this is the first response to the first creation: protect creation, make it grow.”

Pope Francis, since becoming head of the Catholic Church two years ago, has pushed for Christians to do more to when it comes to the environment. He has previously come out against fracking, Big Oil, and has called on Christians to acknowledge that climate change is real and that action needs to be taken. He is also expected to speak about the environment and global warming at a UN address in September.

It’s no coincidence that this pope, whose real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, chose Francis as his papal name. St. Francis of Assisi was canonized as the patron saint of animals and the environment, and the current pope is living up to his name by protecting those tenets.